Update (2017): See .NET Framework Releases to learn about newer releases. This release is no longer supported.

We continue to bring certain features through updates to .NET 4 without having to wait for the .NET 4.5 release. This post covers what the latest platform update has to offer. Vivek Mishra from the .NET Servicing team authored the following. – Layla

Update 4.0.3 for the Microsoft .NET Framework 4 is now available for download. This is the third platform update that offers new features on top of the initial release for the .NET Framework 4. You can learn about earlier platform updates via the following links: Update 4.0.2 and Update 4.0.1.

Update 4.0.3 introduces five new features spanning the common language runtime, Windows Workflow Foundation (WF), and SqlClient. In addition, Update 4.0.3 includes all the features released in Update 4.0.1 and 4.0.2.

This post briefly describes the features included in Update 4.0.3 and provides links to the download packages and Microsoft Knowledge Base articles, which describe the changes in detail. You can find further information about how to use this release, setup instructions, and links to documentation in the .NET Framework Developer Center.

What are the features in 4.0.3?

The following table lists all the features included in this update. Note that features from earlier platform updates are also included in 4.0.3 and remain unchanged from their initial release.

Feature	4.0.1	4.0.2	4.0.3
Support for running workflows in partial trust	✓
Windows Workflow Foundation messaging activities enabled across multiple hosts	✓
New GCLatencyMode enumeration value for garbage collection behavior	✓
Support for Correlated Connection ID in SqlClient	✓
New support in .NET Framework 4 Portable Class Libraries	✓
AlwaysOn support in SqlClient	✓	✓
SQL Server Express Local Database Runtime support in SqlClient	✓	✓
StateMachine (including designer support)	✓	✓	✓
SqlWorkflowInstanceStore on SQL Azure	✓	✓	✓
Compensation for custom hosts	✓	✓	✓

Where can I get 4.0.3?

• If you want to set up your development environment for building .NET Framework 4.0.3 applications in Visual Studio 2010 Service Pack 1 (SP1), download and install the Design-time Update (KB2600214); for more information, see the Knowledge Base article on the update. You must install Visual Studio 2010 SP1 before you can use this package.
• If you want to set up your development environment for building .NET Framework 4.0.3 applications in Visual Studio 11 Beta or later, download the Multi-Targeting Pack (KB2600213) standalone installer; for more information, see the Knowledge Base article on this update.
• If you don’t need the design-time features and just want to deploy your applications built with the .NET Framework 4.0.3, redistribute the Run-time Update (KB2600211) with your applications; for more information, see the Knowledge Base article. You must install the .NET Framework 4 or .NET Framework 4 Client Profile before installing the Run-time Update.

If you discover any issues while working with this update, please send them our way via Microsoft Connect.